Animal-trap.



NO. 726,121 'PA'I'ENTED APR.21,1903.

11 WALKER.

ANIMAL TRAP.

l APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

ilO

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIAS M. \VALKER, OF OATVILLE, KANSAS.

ANIMAL-TRAP.

"TSPECIFICATIQHfOrming part Of Letters Patent N0. 726,121, dated April21, 1903.

Application filed May 29, 1902. Serial No. 109,479. (No model.)

To all? whom, iv may 0017108771,:

Be it known that I, ELIAS M. IVALKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oatville, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas,have invented new and useful Improvements in Animal-Traps, ofwhich thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in animal-traps, and pertains moreparticularly to that class known as self-set and everset.

My invention pertains to a trap having a runway extending entirelythrough the body of the trap and the ends thereof provided with amechanism adapted to. be closed by. the weight of the animal.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure Us a perspective view of my trap.Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view showing a modifiT- cation at theright-hand end of the runway for closing the 'same. Fig. 3 isa'longitudi nal sectional view.

Referring now" to thedrawings, A represents the main body of thetrap,which may be of any desired form, but, as sh'own,-ismade oblong and isprovided at opposite sides with the oppositely-arranged openings at and01., which are a short distance above the bottom thereof for a purposehereinafter more fully described, Removably extending through the saidbody portion and resting upon the lower walls of the openings at and ais a runway B, which may be secured in any desired manner and which hasits side walls provided with. centrally-located openings b and b and thelower opening 0, which is considerably wider than the side openings;Hinged adjacent each'outer end of said runway is a pivoted platform D,which is pivot: ed at c and has its inner 'en'd extending to about thecenter of the opening 0, and it is so weighted or balanced that it isheld in a practically horizontal position. Above said platform D is ahinged or pivoted member E, which is pivoted at d,'and connecting therear end thereof with the forward end of the platform D is a bar F, andsaid member E is norm ally held in a horizontal position by said bar F.By this construction it will be readily seen that any weight upon therear end of portions of my device.

the bar F, carried by the outer end, is forced upward, and as it isconnected to the rear end of the upper plate the outerend'is forced downto meet the said outer end of the platform. In the modification shown atthe right in Fig. 2 the platform is pivoted near its outer end and theupper plate pivoted at its extreme inner end and connected by a bar G,which is pivotally secured to the said platform and plate intermediatetheir ends. By this construction it will be readily seen that any weightupon the inner end of the platform will force it down, and thus theouter end of the upper plate is drawn down upon the outer end oftheplatform, thus closing the opening behind the animal. To preventthe saidplatform from going too far down, Iprovide the under side of the runwaywith the transverse bar H, which also supports theplatform when theweight of the animal is thereon and prevents the strain from coming onother It will be readily seen thatI provide one of said platforms andmechanism for working the same at each end of the runway. The saidrunway, as before stated, being supported on the lower wall of downbelow the edge of the runway, so that the onterends of said runway arecompletely closed. It will also be readily seen thatan animal enteringthe trap has a clear View all the way through the runway, although Ipro- *might just happen at the time another animal was about to enterthe trap from the opposite side. Closing the side openings b and b arethe doors J and J, which are swung from their upper edgesand-are'adapted to be forced open by the animal after it has founditself inclosed. I provide one end of'the body portion with the openingL, having a door M, by means of which the animals are removed from thetrap.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat out, is

1. In an animal-trap, the combination with a body portion havingoppositely-arranged openings above the bottom, of a removable runwayextending through said body portion and supported by the lower walls ofsaid openings, means for automatically closing the ends of said runway,said runway having intermediate openings in its sides, and swingingdoors closing said openings, substantially as described.

2. In an animal-trap, the combination with a body portion havingoppositely-arranged openings above its bottom, of a runway extendingthrough the body portion and resting on the lower walls of the saidopenings, intermediately-pivoted platforms carried by the side of saidrunway adjacent the ends thereof, intermediatelypivoted members abovesaid platforms, bars connecting the outer ends of the platforms with theinner ends of the upper member, a swinging member extending transversethe runway intermediate its ends, and swinging doors carried by thesides of said runway opposite the intermediate swinging member,substantially as described.

8. In an animal-trap, the combination with a body portion havingoppositely-arranged openings above the bottom, of a removable runwayextending through said body portion and supported by the lower walls ofsaid openings, means for automatically closing the ends of said runway,said runway having intermediate openings in its sides, swinging doorsclosing said openings, and a vertically-swinging screen transverse therunway opposite the said doors, substantially as'described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ELIAS M. WALKER.

\Vitnesses:

I-l. W.-ROY, A. M. HILL.

